-sneaks in- Uh...hehe...errr...I'm back? -cue tumbleweed-
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[This chapter is dedicated to Deus Swiftblade, who was kind enough to nag me for an update]
CHAPTER THE THIRTEENTH
Deóhild sat in silence beside Inuyasha, occasionally glancing at the elf out of the corner of her eye. If he had noticed, he ignored it, instead focusing on the blade that he was sharpening. "He didn't actually die, did he?" She asked hesitantly.
Inuyasha sighed and glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. "He fell off a cliff." He said in a deadpan voice.
Deóhild rolled her eyes. "I mean, did you actually see him die?"
"Knowing the dobe, he's probably alive." Inuyasha shook his head, sheathing his sword. "Besides, if you don't find a body, then there's always that chance that they aren't dead." He added darkly.
"Then why don't you tell Éowyn?"
"What?!" Inuyasha whipped around, staring at her with wide eyes. Deóhild shook her head at him, as if it was the most obvious thing to do.
"Please don't tell me that you just thought of this now…" She said.
Inuyasha gritted his teeth. "Of course I've already thought of it. But what if I'm wrong? Do you want me to give her a false hope that he's still alive? Do you want me to lie to her?" Inuyasha stood and shook his head bitterly. "It may give her hope, but I can't take the chance of hurting her like that if my hunch is wrong…"
Deóhild arched her eyebrow. "Oh? What's this? You seem to be quite protective of my Lady…"
"When did I ever say that I was protective of her?!" the elf snapped loudly, causing others around them to stop and stare. Inuyasha shifted uncomfortably under their gazes and gnashed his teeth together. "You just shut up and mind your own business. Got it girl?"
"What if I think that it is my business?" Deóhild demanded, standing up and stepping into his face. "She's my best friend Master Elf," she sneers mockingly. Deóhild isn't sure why she's so angry, but for some reason she feels extremely irritated with the elf. "I think that I have pretty good grounds to think that it's my business if you like her."
Inuyasha's eyes glinted violet, and the human girl took a step back in surprise. "You. Know. Nothing." He roughly grabbed her wrist and pulled to a more secluded spot, away from prying eyes. "You listen, and you better listen well girl." He snarls, pointing a finger into her face accusingly. "I don't care who you are, or who you were. You may have been her best friend before, but that's not what you are now, not what she remembers now. To her you're just a lowly farm girl who took her siblings to alert them of an attack and nothing more."
"I know nothing? You don't know anything!" Deóhild shouted, shoving him back away from her. "She's lonely, and scared, and she misses her family! She misses kaa-san and ojii-san and her otouto-kun, and she's worries about her 'exams'! Don't you ever dare say that I don't know her, because I definitely know her more than you ever will!" She panted heavily after that outburst, then turned on her heel to walk away from him.
Inuyasha growled low in his throat, his head jerking to the sides as he felt his anger swell in his chest, then shouts. "Éowyn doesn't even have a little brother! She doesn't have to worry about exams!" Deóhild froze mid-step and slowly turned back to Inuyasha, whose face was hidden behind his hair. "She's a princess. A shield-maiden of Rohan. Not a school girl who has to worry about the text books she needs to carry, or the 'tests' and 'exams' that she needs to pass. She doesn't know or remember any of that."
"Déorhild? Déorhild! There you are!" A man's voice exclaimed, the sound of running footsteps along with it.
Turning around and stepping out from behind the pillar a radiant smile appeared on Déorhild's face as she threw her arms around the man who was running towards her. "Dernfara!" She cried happily, as he laughed, swinging her around in the air.
Setting her back down onto the ground Dernfara planted a kiss on her nose. "You have no idea how worried I was about you…"He said, shaking his head in amusement. "Where were you just now?"
Déorhild laughed as well and kissed his cheek. "Arguing actually. The guy can be such an ass sometimes," She turns to call Inuyasha out so that she can introduce the to men, but she stops when she sees that the elf has vanished. Suddenly, she froze, as she felt Dernfara's hand slide downwards from the small of her back.
SLAP!
"Ow! What was that for?!"
"Dernfara…you…PERV!"
:-:-:-:-:
"Helm's Deep has one weakness. Its outer wall is solid rock, but for a small culvert that its base, which is little more than a drain…"Wormtongue-or rather, Hakudoshi watched his 'master' fill the strange metal containers with what appeared to be small black pebbles. "How? How can fire undo stone? What kind of device could bring down the wall?" He questioned, stepping forward and leaning in to better examine the strange object. Saruman grabbed the candlestick that Hakudoshi was holding, which had gotten too close for comfort.
"If the wall if breached, Helm's Deep will fall." The wizard said, confidence radiating from his whole being. He made his way out of the room, towards the balcony overlooking the area.
Hakudoshi followed, shaking his head in disbelief. "Even if it is breached, it would take a number beyond reckoning, thousands, to storm the Keep."
"Tens of Thousands."
"But, my lord, there is no such force." Just as Hakudoshi finished speaking, two horn blasts sounded in the distance, and as he stepped onto the balcony, he felt his jaw drop. Covering half of the land that made up the courtyard stood a massive army, clad in dark, heavy metal armor, with several flags littered thoughout the group, all of them bearing the white hand of Saruman. Raising a hand to silence them, Saruman looked down at them.
"A new power is rising. Its victory is at hand." He called out in a loud voice, the Uruk-hai banging their armor and blowing their horns in response. "This night, the land will be stained with the blood of Rohan! March to Helm's Deep! Leave none alive!" Raising his hand in the air, the wizard shouted loudly, "To war!" The army roared eagerly in response, and Saruman gazed down on them haughtily. "There will be no dawn for men…"
:-:-:-:-:
Elrond watched as his daughter walk away, along with her kinsmen towards the harbor, where she would be taken to the Undying Lands. He stood alone in the night, and seemed to be staring off into space, but in reality, he could hear a voice echoing through his mind.
"The power of the enemy is growing." The woman's voice whispered, "Sauron will use his puppet Saruman to destroy the people of Rohan…Isengard has been unleashed. The Eye of Sauron, now turns to Gondor…the last free kingdom of men. His war on this country will come swiftly. He senses the Ring is close. The strength of the Ring-bearer is failing. In his heart, Frodo begins to understand, that the quest…will claim his life. Elrond sighs to himself and closes his eyes. "You know this". The woman's voice added. "You have foreseen it. It is the risk we all took." She murmers, as the image of the Ring appears in Elrond's mind. "In the gathering dark, the will of the Ring grows strong. It works hard now to find its way back into the hand of Men. Men, who are so easily seduced by its power. The young Captain of Gondor has but to extend his hand, take the Ring for his own, and the world will fall. It is close now, so close to achieving its goal…For Sauron…Naraku, will have dominion over all life on this Earth, even unto the ending of the world. The time of the Elves, is over. Do we leave Middle-earth to its fate?" She asks, as Elrond makes his way to the mural depicting Sauron's original demise at the hands of Isildur. "Do we let them stand alone?"
/:-:-:-:-:/
"Haldir…"
He turned towards the voice, and nodded as he saw the familiar face walking towards him. "Ánië." He greets her, as she goes to stand beside him. "What brings you here?" He asked curiously. The other Elf wasn't exactly known to be one to seek company. As a matter of fact, Haldir had never seen the She-Elf talk to anyone aside from himself on her own accord.
"You knew him. From before. Líndal Greenleaf. You called him 'Wanderer of the Worlds'." The she said quietly.
Haldir's brow creased slightly. "What are you speaking of?"
Ánië glares at him. "You know exactly what I speak of. I know him. I, I loved him." She breathes, turning away from him, her usually calm and stoic demeanor fracturing for a second.
"I don't recall you ever meeting him…"
Ánië whirls around, and Haldir sees uncharacteristic fear in her eyes. "I know that. But why? You as well Haldir. I sometimes mistake you for someone wearing strange white robes, metal armor and a long pelt. I am confused Haldir."
Haldir closes his eyes and sighs. It is the same for him. He has images of her in strange robes as well, her's the colours red and white. It was the same with Líndal. He did not see an elf clad in traditional elven clothing that was used for fighting, but rather blood red clothing, similar to what he had seen her wear. And… he felt kinship to the other elf. They had only met on occasion, and had rarely fought together, but then why did he feel protective of him? Why did he feel irritated when he spoke, even though his words were never directed to him? "Ánië…"
"My lord Haldir, Lady Ánië." The pair turned to see an Elf standing behind them. "Lady Galadriel and Lord Celborn have asked for your presence."
Haldir rests a hand on her shoulder. "Shall we continue later?" he asks, and then turns to make his way after the elf. Walking in silence the two eventually make into the main room. Haldir and Ánië bow as Lady Galadriel and Lord Celeborn make their way down the stairs.
"Why have you called us to your presence, my lord?" Haldir asks, after a moment of silence.
Lord Celeborn glances at Lady Galadriel, then continues. "As you know the White Wizard Saruman has declared an attack on the people of Rohan. Théoden and his people have fled to Helm's Deep. Isengaurd has been emptied."
Ánié blinks twice-the only sign of her distress at this piece of news. "How many stand with the King of Rohan?" She asked quietly, dreading the answer.
"Not even five hundred strong."
The young elven woman lets out a strangled noise to Haldir's surprise. "Their allies. Have they sent word to anyone? To Gondor?" he asked. Lord Celeborn shakes his head. "But why? Do they not understand that they will surely die without assistance? Why have they not sent out riders?"
"They believe that all of the old allegiances are dead." Lady Galadriel says looking at both of them with an intense gaze, as if she was judging their resolve. "However, there is one. One last alliance that can save them from their doom."
Ánié opens her mouth do ask what she means, when Haldir clapped a hand on her shoulder. "I understand…"
:-:-:-:-:
"Where is he? Where is he?! Get out of the way, I'm going to kill him!"
Aragorn dismounts Brego, and turns to see Gimli pushing his way to the front of the large crowd the gathered as he entered Helms Deep.
Gimli's eyes widen as if he cannot believe that the man is actually standing in front of him. "You are the luckies, the canniest," Gimli begins stamming, "and the most reckless men I ever knew." He finishes, stepping forward and grabbing Aragorn around the waist. "Bless you laddie."
Hugging him back briefly, Aragorn then stepped back, glancing around. "Gimli, where is the king?"
Hurrying off in the direction that the Dwarf had nodded to, Aragorn sees two familiar figures standing and waiting for him.
"You're late."Legolas said flatly.
"And you look like shit." Inuyasha added just at bluntly, giving him a once over. "I mean, come on. You fall off a damn cliff and all you have is rip in your sleeve and a scrape on your shoulder? What the hell?"
Aragorn stared at the two in disbelief, before breaking out into a grin, as they started to chuckle along with him.
"But in all seriousness teme." Inuyasha shook his head, the punched the man in the gut. Out of the corner of his eye, Inuyasha notes Kago-Éowyn take several steps towards them, a joyful expression on her face.
Legolas puts a hand in his pocket and pulls out the Evenstar necklace and hands it to Aragorn. The man looks at it in disbelief. Originally he thought that he had lost it for good, sometime when he had fallen. Murmuring his thanks the two men were oblivious to how the Rohan woman's joy seemed to turn into hesitation and sadness. But-of course-Inuyasha noticed…
:-:-:-:-:
"A great host you say?"
"All of Isengard is emptied."
"How many?"
…
"Ten thousand strong at least."
"Ten thousand?!"
"It is an army bread for a single purpose: to destroy the world of Men."
…
"We are in so much shit aren't we? OW!"
…
"Okay, okay, I get it, wrong time."
"They'll be here by night fall."
"…Let them come."
…
"But in all seriousness. We are fucked."
:-:-:-:-:
Théoden, as well as Aragron and co, walked down to the Gate where organized chaos was occurring, men reinforcing the doors, others gathering those who would be able to fight, and others finding and transporting weaponry.
Gazing up at the enterance to Helms Deep the king began thinking aloud. "We will cover the causeway, and the gate from above." He said, "No army has ever berached the Deeping Wall, or set foot inside the Hornburg!"
"This is no rabble of mindless Orcs." Gimli interjected, leaning on his axe. "These are Uruk-hai. Their armour is thick and their shields broad." He added ominously.
"As much as I hate to agree with chibi-chan here," Inuyasha said with a grimache, "He's right. That won't be enough."
A tick mark appeared on Théoden's forehead. " I have fought many wars, Master Elf. Master Dwarf. I know how to defend my own keep." He said in a deadly voice, brushing past them.
Inuyasha gnashed his teeth together in anger and frustration. Damn it all!
"Tch. As much as I hate to admit it, if all else fails, we can use you as our trump card…" Gimli grumbles as the two of them follow the rest back into the main courtyard.
Inuyasha turned to the Dwarf incredulously. "Nani? Trump card?" He asked in disbelief.
"You have your magic sword don't you? Swing the thing and you can level the whole area."
Inuyasha glanced away from the dwarf, then down at Tetsusaiga. "Yeah…right." He mutters. Ducking his head, he walks down one of the side ally's leading off towards the stables. "I'll see you later."
Inuyasha ignores Gimli's mutter of 'crazy elf', as he makes his way down the route (literally) less travelled. Brushing into the stables, he grabs a brush out of one of the buckets near the door and walks over to Kirara's stall.
"Hey pretty girl, you're one of Éomer's friend's horses, aren't you. What are you doing here?"
Inuyasha freezes and his ears twitch when he hears the voice coming from the stall just around the corner. He slowly looks around to corner to find Éowyn standing with her back to him, and her forehead pressed against Kirara's. The horse nickers and bobs her head, and Inuyasha ducks back behind the pillar, swearing that they made eye contact.
"What's up pretty girl, is someone there? You know, I really should figure out what you're name is."
Inuyasha grins as he imagines the pout on her face as she thinks aloud to herself.
"I can't keep calling you 'pretty girl', can I?"
"Elfwyn. That's what her name is." Inuyasha says, coming out of his hiding place. "Means 'Elf-friend', right?"
The woman's face is startled for a moment, when it softens into a gentle smile. "You are correct Master Elf."
"Keh, 'Master Elf'. Too proper for me. Just call me Líndal. Easier for both of us." He smirks, and tosses the brush to her. A look of panic crosses over her face for a brief second, but the well timed through causes the brush to land perfectly into her outstretched hands. "Did you want to brush her?" He asks hesitantly, picking up a second brush and walking over to Kirara's other side.
"Thank you." She says, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, and Inuyasha inhales sharply as he remembers Kagome doing the exact same thing once before. Éowyn brushes down Kirara's flank, humming to herself. She rubs little circles with her fingers across her back, and she laughs when Kirara stomps her hoof and knickers, tossing her head playfully.
"Lííndal? Anyone home?"
Inuyasha blinks furiously for a second and scowls in embarrassment when he sees her teasing face across from his. She winks at him, and Inuyasha is dumbstruck at how much she's acting like how she used to, a lifetime ago. "I thought that Elves don't space out." She comments lightly, walking around behind Kirara, one hand staying planted firmly on the horse's back.
Inuyasha rolls his eyes and on impulse, ruffles her hair and pulls her into a hug on reflex. They stand like that for an instant, when Inuyasha's eyes open wide and Éowyn pushes him away suddenly. She pushes past him, glancing back at him with confusion and a touch of fear in her eyes.
"F-forgive me. That was uncalled for. Kuso!" Inuyasha swears angrily as her face turns red and she looks down.
"No. I acted out of line as well. Excuse me my Lord…"
Inuyasha watches her practically run out of the stables, and when he's sure she's out of earshot, throws down the brushes, the banging of wood on stone causing the horses to start and stamp their feet. "SHIMATTA!"
FORGIVE ME! -grovels on the floor- Oh, god, it's been eons since I've updated this, hasn't it -_-" And what makes me feel worse, is that most of this chapter was in existance for months, but I left it to gather dust in the cyber world -flails around helplessly-
Siigh...well, if anyone's still reading this, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for continuing to read this chapter, despite the atrocious lateness of it.
May Eru bless my plight so that I can update sooner rather than later...